Complete AFCA DII All-American Team
CLEVELAND – After closing his career as one of the all-time greats at Delta State University, senior linebacker Lardester Hicks-Green on Monday received the highest honor bestowed by the American Football Coaches Association – AFCA Coaches All-American.
“We’re extremely proud of Lardester and what he accomplished here at Delta State,” said Ron Roberts, DSU head coach. “He deserves everything that comes his way. Lardester was a leader on and off the field and the type of player you hope the rest of the team will emulate.”
Despite the less than fairy tale ending to the season for the Statesmen (5-5), Hicks-Green, a 6-foot-1 senior from Chicago, Ill., made the most of his final campaign by recording 94 tackles and 15.0 tackles-for-los. In a six tackle performance at Arkansas Tech, the hard-hitting outside linebacker became the Delta State and Gulf South Conference career leader in tackles. A week later, the Chicago, Ill.,, native added seven tackles to finish with 343, ranking 23rd all-time in NCAA Division II.
Hicks-Green becomes just the sixth Statesmen to garner the prestigious AFCA All-American tag, joining Chad Schroeder (WR/2008), Michael Eubanks (LB/2007), Anthony Maddox (DT/2003), Chris Booker (OL/2001 &2002) and Jerome Williams (LB/1995).
The AFCA’s Division II All-America Selection Committee is made up of three head coaches from each of the AFCA’s nine districts, one of whom serves as a district chairman, along with another head coach who serves as the chairman of the selection committee. The coaches in each district are responsible for ranking the top players in their respective districts prior to a conference call between the district chairmen and the committee chairman on which the team is chosen.
The AFCA sponsors an All-America Team for Bowl Championship Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA. What makes these teams so special is that they are the only ones chosen exclusively by the men who know the players the best — the coaches themselves.